making news in america this morning -- our wicked winter continues. another major storm slams our nation's heartland. tens of millions of people in 19 states are now in its path. the latest forecast, coming up. plus, a new twist in the murder case of oscar pistorius. the detective investigating the crime is himself accused of seven counts of attempted murder. the details behind this surprising development. also, a public health investigation. after a dead body is found inside a water tank at a hotel. the water from that tank, the same water that hotel guests drank and even bathed in. and a steamy scene in a washington state coffee shop. and it wasn't from the latte. what police say baristas were serving along with their coffee, that's got them in hot water.

good morning, everybody. travel could be dangerous for millions this morning in the center of the country. >> forecasters are expecting a messy mix of snow, rain, freezing rain and sleet, and even the possibility of tornadoes. abc's tahman bradley is joining us this morning from washington, with more on this winter storm. good morning, tahman. >> reporter: good morning, diana. good morning, rob. some 30,000 people are in the path of this monster. much more severe weather is expected today in the nation's heartland. a brutal winter blast that started in california, is marching through the midwest. today, millions will experience the full brunt of the storm when it dumps more snow and ice. and it might even spawn tornadoes. in parts of california, everyone is pitching in to clear snow. >> trying to dig out my dad so he can go to work later on

today. >> i'm really liking this now that they're getting a little older. they can handle it for me. so, i don't have to come out here and have a heart attack. >> reporter: across several states, freezing rain and sleet made driving conditions treacherous. some drivers spliped or spun out of control. >> i was trying to go down the street from my house. and i started to go sideways down the hill. >> reporter: some were stranded for hours after icy highways were shut down. >> going to se sonora. >> it's too icy. >> reporter: the storm is blamed for one death. watches and warnings are affecting 30 million people in 19 states. snow in arizona. near tucson, the opening round of the match play championship was suspended when the greens turned white. >> look at the timelapse. we've received several inches of snow just in the last two hours. >> reporter: tiger woods and other golfers took cover. >> i've never actually played golf to the point where we've

stopped for snow. a little crazy for it to snow in the desert, as well. >> reporter: officials in the heartland fear this could be the worst storm in the midwest in two years. diana and rob? >> tahman bradley in washington. thanks, tahman. as you can imagine, hundreds of flights have already been canceled ahead of the storm. >> with more on this track of the system, we're joined by accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. jim? >> good morning, rob and dana. we're tracking a strong storm system here. bringing a wide range of weather here. blizzard conditions in the plains. icy mix between that. and heavy thunderstorms that will track into the lower mississippi valley as we head through the day, bringing large winds and hail. 12 to 24 inches in central kansas. 6 to 12 in kansas city and omaha. rob and diana, back to you. >> stay safe, everybody. now to south africa and a bombshell this morning in the bail hearing for olympic star

oscar pistorius. it all involves the lead investigator in the murder case, detective hilton botha. police announced botha himself is facing seven counts of attempted murder. it all stems from an incident back in 2011. that's when botha and two other officers fired shots at a minibus. prosecutors say they were aware of those charges when they put both on the stand yesterday. his testimony casts new doubt on the case against pistorius. bothaed a to admit that authorities had no evidence to challenge his claim that he killed reeva steenkamp by accident, believing she was an intruder. a judge could rule tomorrow whether pistorius are released on bail. a small jet crashed in the woods 30 miles west of augusta. the plane was trying to land. one of the two survivors is believed to be the pilot. and surveillance video caught the moment when a

downtown kansas city restaurant exploded on tuesday, from an apparent gas leak. investigators have uncovered the body of a woman killed in the blast. and there are fears that at least one more body may be buried in the debris. a construction crew struck a natural gas line setting off that explosion. from a promising political future, now to the possibility of prison time. former congressman jesse jackson jr. could get five years after admitting he used thousands in campaign funds for his personal use, in including a $43,000 rolex, as well as a lot of rock 'n' roll memorabilia. he spoke outside the courtroom afterwards. >> it's not a proud day. i'm sorry i let everybody down. >> jackson's wife pleaded guilty to filing false joint income tax returns. she faces one to two years in prison. on top of that, thousands in fines. a bombshell secret revealed by a respected former senator.

pete domenici now says he fathered a secret child during an affair in the 1970s. perhaps more shocking, the woman in the affair was the daughter of one of his senate colleagues. domenici represented new mexico for six terms before retiring. he's been married for more than 50 years and has 8 children with his wife. hundreds of thousands of federal workers are being warned there will be less money in their paychecks if those budget cuts go through. pentagon workers would lose one day of work each week for up to 22 weeks. that's a loss of about 20% of their pay. and the budget people at the defense department said the effect of those cuts will be felt across the country. also, from the pentagon, a military milestone. for the first time since 2007, more than 30 days have passed with no u.s. deaths in afghanistan. the pentagon says that's because of fewer enemy attacks. and the fact that afghans, now, are taking over more of their own security operations. if you're about to chow down

on an egg mcmuffin this morning, you're probably not alone. a new study shows just how much fast food americans eat. adults ate 11% of their daily calories in fast food over a four-year period. topping the survey, nonhispanic black adults who ate one-fifth of their diet from fast food. and the over-60 crowd, ate fast food just 6% of the time. well, drinking coffee can apparently give you the jolt you need to live longer. a new study of older americans found three cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of early death by 10% to 15%. too much caffeine used to be considered unhealthy. but researchers say, the more coffee people consumed the less likely they are to die from injuries, heart disease, stroke and other ailments. >> staff on this show shall live forever. and speaking of coffee, police near seattle say some local coffee joints there have been serving up a lot more than java. they arrested three bikini baristas at grab-n-go coffee

stands yesterday. the cops claim the young ladies were illegally exposing themselves for tips, which violates local cabaret laws. the owner of the stand says he has a zero tolerance policy for this kind of alleged conduct. >> grab-n-go. >> all kinds of things to get us up in the morning. still ahead today, guests of a california hotel are facing a horrifying possibility. they may have to drink -- they may have already drunk water contaminated by a dead body. the details behind this strange and pretty sickening story. but first, if you can't get your hands off of your smartphone, google is suggesting you wear the internet. we'll tell how you google glass works. and we'll tell you how you can get your hands on a pair. we'll be right back.

and welcome back, everybody. well, sony has unveiled its playstation 4, sort of. the company talked about its next gaming unit but never actually showed the console, just the controller and a few games. but it did show what playstation 4 can do. the most important changes, much of the system will be cloud-based. and on top of that, a button that you can use to post a video on special media of your success when you win. the prices of used cars are skyrocketing because they're scarce. the automakers cut production on top of that. three to five years later, there aren't as many used cars from that period. with the incentives and lower interest rates for a used car, they're not much more than a used one.

an american executive who criticized the work ethic. morrie taylor says french workers get paid high wages but only work three hours a day. and guying a goodyear plant in france would be, quote, stupid. taylor is known as the griz for his aggressive style, which the french say is insulting. and looking for bold, creative individuals. but not for their jobs, instead as customers. the company is running a contest for a chance to buy a pair of its internet-connected glasses. to enter you must live in the u.s. and tell google what you would do with what the company calls google glass. if you win, by the way, they're still going to cost you $1,500. a competition i would inter. is this a line to give my money away. >> that's a little pricey. when we come back this morning, investigators explain how a young cancer patient became a fire victim. all of it while lying in her hospital bed. also ahead, what the leader of the free world had to say

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ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. kansas is getting pounded this morning with heavy snow, whiteout conditions and freezing rain. at least one fatality is now being blamed on the storm. hundreds of flights have already been canceled ahead of the storm. and we'll take a look at your morning road conditions now. the roads around memphis and little rock could be slippery today with a mix of freezing lain and sleet. also, heavy snow will slow traffic in kansas. gusty winds could be a problem around new orleans and jackson, mississippi. >> if you're flying, airport delays are expected in denver, kansas city, memphis, chicago, minneapolis, houston and new orleans. and now, to a shocking story out of los angeles this morning. the body of a missing woman has been found inside of a hotel water tank.

the discovery was made after guests complained about the taste and the pressure of that water. they'd been drinking it and using it to bathe and brush their teeth. the body of canadian tourist elisa lam may have been in the tank for three weeks. the woman was seen in surveillance video acting strangely by the elevator. they're trying to determine if foul play was involved in all this. health officials are testing the water quality. we told you yesterday about the young girl in oregon who was burned in her hospital bed. ireland lane is still covered in bandages. a fire marshal's investigation confirms that the fire was sparked by static electricity and fed by alcohol-based hand sanitizer and olive oil, which was being used to remove adhesive after a medical test. >> this was a really unusual event. and it really shouldn't happen again. i think that the -- it was the

combination of the static and hand sanitizer and the olive oil all together. we're going to eliminate the olive oil. and i think hand sanitizer when used as advised, it saves lives, each and every year in this country. >> ireland is undergoing a second skin graft today, which happens to be her 12th birthday. and we wish her the very best. >> she's been through a lot for a little girl. wow. a former suburban chicago police sergeant, drew peterson, finds out if he will get a new trial. peterson was convicted last fall in the murder of his third wife. he's also accused of killing wife number four. she disappeared back in '07. he claims his former attorney was inept and kept him from getting a fair trial. if the judge denials a trial, he will be sentenced. and lance armstrong is refusing to testify under oath to u.s. anti-doping agents. he let yesterday's deadline pass without telling american investigators what he knows

about the use of illegal drugs in pro cycling. if he had testified, armstrong could have had his lifetime ban from sports reduced. instead, his lawyer's statement said armstrong would testify to an international tribunal. one problem with that, such a tribunal doesn't currently exist. at long last, we're hearing from president obama about his golf game with tiger woods. it took place last sunday in florida. an anchor from our san francisco station posed the question yesterday. >> finally, this is a political question you want to duck. but how does your golf game hold up next to tigers? >> that's not a hard question. he plays a different game than i do. he's on another plain. >> is he more nervous because he's playing with you? >> i don't think i would refer to it as nervous. he knew that i wasn't a big threat to his world ranking. and i knew that i better keep my day job. >> on tuesday, woods said he was impressed by the president's pitching and putting.

and he said, if president obama had the time to dedicate ould probably a y good . ot a bad endorsement. time, now, for some sports news this morning. here are the latest headlines from espn. >> hi. i'm hakem dermish with your "sportscenter" update. the lakers playing their first game since the death of jerry buss. the legendary owner was honored before tip-off. here's kobe. >> his vision transcended the game. and we are all, all spoiled by his vision and by his drive to win year after year after year. >> jerry buss helped the lakers win ten nba championships. first quarter, dwight howard, not going to trade him. kobe in transition. bucket and the foul. history in the third quarter. steve nash, to dwight. and that assist would tie nash

with magic johnson for fourth on the all-time assist list. later in the quarter, nash to n antoiwan jamison. and with that, nash is fourth of all-time. lakers beat the celtics, 113-99. knicks visiting the pacers. knicks down double digits early. tempers flaring. stoudami stoudamire, hansbrough. gets angry at the ref. closing seconds at the first half, more anger. jared smith, lance stephenson, chirping at each other. knicks fell by 30 at the half. to the third. paul george, no-look pass to david west. the pacer's 30-point victory is the second-largest win over the knicks in franchise history. that's your "sportscenter" update. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. coming up next this morning, stories of triumph in today's "pulse." first, of course, we welcome

home robin roberts. and then, we hear from a man who was being rescued after being trapped in an avalanche. stay with us. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep.

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and return to sleep again. ♪ time to check, "the pulse," the stories you'll be talking about today. and a heartwarming comeback we've all been looking forward to for five months. >> i have been waiting 174 days to say this. good morning, america. >> robin roberts was back in the anchor chair, right where she belongs, alongside the rest of the "gma" gang. robin returned yesterday, glowing with her radiant smile, after surviving a life-threatening bone marrow transplant and blood disorder. >> robin said faith, family and

friends brought her back. and she's raring to go. up next, the oscars this weekend and an interview with the first lady. welcome back. we're seeing some amazing pictures of an avalanche survivor in colorado. anthony robinson created a facebook page. >> in one picture, robinson was still buried in the snow. peeking out from feets of snow. he has a big, ole smile on his face. robinson said the avalanche put his priorities in order. >> heard the ground moan, basically. and you know, all the snow under you started to move. i just thought of my wife, my 18-month-old son and god. >> believe it or not, he was able to walk away with just a few bumps and bruises. they don't usually show you the highlights from a table tennis tournament on this show. but we thought this one was worth it. watch the french player, in blue. and check out his shot. an out-of-this-world behind-the-back shot was enough to stop his opponent right in

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updating our top stories now. police in south africa said this morning that the lead investigator in the oscar pistorius murder case is he, himself, facing charges of attempted murder. a small plane has crashed in eastern georgia, killing five people onboard and injuring two others. the jet was flying in from nashville last night when it overshot the runway and crashed in the woods. travel would be treacherous in the midwest, as a major storm pounds that area with snow. hundreds of flights have been canceled ahead of the storm. and looking at today's weather. a nice day in the east. but severe storms threaten the gulf coast. icy conditions around little rock and memphis, kansas city, denver, and st. louis could all see heavy snow. and finally from us this morning, just three days to go before this year's historic academy awards. >> all eyes are on two first-time oscar nominees. the youngest ever and the oldest

ever, competing for the coveted best actress statue. more from abc's brandi hitt. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> reporter: oscar loves a good drama. >> tonight has been -- >> reporter: and this year, two women are making history in the best actress category as the oldest and youngest nominees ever. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> reporter: 9-year-old quvenzhane wallis may have difficulty reaching a press microphone. but she easily won many hearts in her first film "beasts of the southern wild." >> me and my daddy, we stay right here. >> reporter: quvenzhane is competing against hollywood's leading ladies. so is french actress, emrelate reeva. the 85-year-old was recently awarded a bafta in london. the oldest best actress winner, jessica tandy, won when she was

80 for "driving miss daisy." marlee matlin is the youngest for "children of a lesser god." and many remember tatum o'neal, who won best supporting actress for "paper moon." >> i'm happy and exciting. but it's something that i never would think i would happen at your age. >> reporter: but many critics believe this year, experience will pay off in oscar gold. >> i think emmanuelle riva from "amour" will win best actress. >> reporter: oscar sunday happens to be emmanuelle riva's 86th birthday. she would have two reasons to celebrate. bran sy hit, abc news, los angeles. >> i love the tidbits and history behind the show. >> i think we're going to have to know the name quvenzhane and how to say it. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> stay with us for "good morning america." and have a wonderful day.